Hamburgers

A perfect, juicy all American Hamburger! Here I’ll share 3 simple ways to cook burgers (including stovetop, grill and even oven), plus tips on how to build the best burger. This includes a simple homemade bun, a variety of sauces and all the best toppings!

Want to try a different type of burger next? Go for my Turkey Burgers or Black Bean Burgers to switch things up sometimes.

An Easy Classic Burger Recipe

Burgers have long been a staple food in our family. So I guess you can say we are a typical American family.

Growing up we had them cooked to that hockey puck doneness, overly well, but as a kid I didn’t care it was a burger. One thing my mom never got wrong though was that she never used the pre-formed patties. That’s burger mistake number one in my mind.

Shaping your own burgers from fresh ground beef will give you a fair superior result.

Helpful Tips

After 20 years of experience making hamburgers I’ve learned several other things along the way to create the perfect burger:

• Use a high quality bun for the base as this makes up a huge portion of the completed burger. Homemade or bakery fresh is best.
• Go for a good fat ratio within the beef for tenderness (personally I prefer 85%).
• Adequately season the meat with salt, this is a big one people often miss.
• Careful not to overwork the beef as you shape the patties so it’s not tough.
• Use a food thermometer to cook to the right temp so it’s not undercooked and dangerously rare, or over-cooked and dry and rubbery.
• Preheat pan/grill and maintain that proper temp. Otherwise you’ll end up with a pale steamed-like patty or overly charred burger.
• Cook at a fairly high temp without disturbing as it cooks, this helps create a beautifully brown crust. The only way I could achieve this in the oven was to start that pan out super hot and not turn the burger until the end, for one nicely browned side at least.
• Slice toppings fairly thin. For texture and this allows the flavor of the beef shine if we don’t go overboard on toppings.
• Toast the buns so they don’t get soggy and they hold up better.
• If grilling burgers don’t leave them unattended. Grills can have dangerous flare ups if you don’t keep an eye on things. You should also be cleaning the fat from the grill regularly.

Over the years I’ve also tried different things like seasoning the beef to build in other flavors, creating various sizes of burgers, and trying various toppings.

I’ve settled on simple, and freshest is best but you are always welcome to change things up and go more bold (unique toppings, hot sauce/ peppers, blue cheese, etc).

And of course if you are a cheeseburger fan don’t forget to add the cheese after turning the burger (during cooking) for perfectly melty cheesy goodness.

If you are wondering what my personal favorite method of cooking is here it’s easily the cast iron stovetop method. But the others are nice for convenience as well and I use all three.

Hamburger Topping Ideas

• Sauce: Ketchup, mustard, mayo, guacamole, creamy homemade spread, or bbq sauce
• Vegetables: Lettuce, tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, avocado, pickles, pickled jalapeno peppers, onions (fresh, sauteed, or grilled)
• Meat: Cooked bacon
• Cheeses: Sliced cheddar cheese, American cheese (deli fresh is better), PepperJack, Colby, Provolone or Muenster

Ingredients to Make Homemade Burgers

• Homemade hamburger buns or bakery buns
• Ground beef, 80 to 85% lean
• Salt and black pepper
• Vegetable oil, for cooking
• Sauce for bun (ketchup, mustard, etc)

How to Shape Hamburger Patties

1. Divide beef into 4 equal portions of 5 oz. each if using 1 1/4 lbs., or 6 oz. each if using 1 1/2 lbs. beef.
2. Note that a kitchen scale will work best for the most even size and therefor even cooking time among the burgers.
3. Gently shape each portion into cylinder like shape then smash into a round that is 4-inches wide and about 3/4-inch thick.
4. Make a slight indent in the center of each patty (so they’ll end up cooking more level rather than domed).
5. Season evenly and quite generously with the salt and pepper on both sides, just once you are ready to cook the burgers.

How to Cook Hamburgers on the Stovetop

1. Oil the 12-inch cast iron skillet with vegetable oil (it works well to just use a balled up paper towel to spread it around), then preheat over medium-high heat on the stovetop. It should heat about 5 to 8 minutes until oil is shimmering. (I recommend turning on exhaust fan too)
2. Place patties in a skillet spacing evenly apart and using a spatula press down over the top of them so the bottom of the burger makes direct contact with the surface of the pan and therefor browns evenly.
3. Let cook undisturbed until nicely browned on bottom, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook until opposite side is browned and burger is cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes longer. Add cheese after turning if using so it has enough time to melt.
4. Note that if burger is browning to quickly as it cooks reduce temperature to medium, if using the largest burner on the stove you may find medium is sufficient for entire cook time.
5. Serve burgers in buns with desired toppings.

 

How to Grill Burgers

1. Preheat a gas grill over medium high heat to 425 to 450 degrees.
2. Clean grill grates and carefully brush grates with the vegetable oil (using a balled up paper towel and tongs).
3. Place patties on grill (over area of flames). Cover with lid and let grill 4 minutes then turn to opposite side and cook through, about 3 to 5 minutes longer.
4. If adding cheese place on top after turning to allow time to melt.

How to Bake Hamburgers

1. Place a cast iron skillet on a rack in center of the oven. Preheat to 500 degrees.
2. Once preheated remove pan from oven and immediately brush oil into pan (using tongs and paper towel). Add burger patties right away and slightly press down with a spatula so they make even contact with pan.
3. Carefully return hot pan to oven right away, reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake until burgers are cooked through, about 7 to 9 minutes, turning during last 1 minute.
4. If you’d like to add cheese add after turning at last 1 minute.

Burger Doneness Temperatures

Note that FDA recommends cooking to a temperature of 160 to kill of any potentially harmful bacteria. I personally prefer a fairly well done burger at about 155. Temperature should be taken internally in center of burger on an instant read food thermometer.

• Medium rare: 130° to 135°F
• Medium: 140° to 145°F
• Medium well: 150° to 155°F
• Well done: 160°F

Possible Variations

• Make a lettuce wrap hamburger: Skip the bun and use whole romaine lettuce leaves in it’s place. Use a base of two medium leaves layered together, build burger over one side and fold over the top to finish it.
• Try a double patty burger: If you are going for a mile high burger you can do two 3 oz. portions each per hamburger. I’d recommend the stovetop cooking method, and cut back cook time slightly. Scrape pan clean between the two batches of four each.
• For the creamy spread sauce: In a small bowl mix together 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 2 1/2 Tbsp ketchup, 1/2 tsp vinegar, 1/4 tsp paprika, 1/8 tsp onion powder, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper and season with salt and pepper to taste.

What to Serve with Hamburgers

• French Fries
• Sweet Potato Fries
• Chips and Salsa or potato chips
• Coleslaw or Apple Slaw
• Fruit Salad